Ling Feng (simplified: 凌封, traditional: 凌封, pinyin: Líng Fēng) was the younger son of Ling Tong, a prominent general of Eastern Wu. He and his elder brother Ling Lie were orphaned when their father died of illness in 217, and both were raised in Sun Quan’s palace. Sun Quan regarded them fondly, calling them his “tiger cubs.” When Ling Lie was stripped of his marquisate and command for a crime, Ling Feng succeeded to the title and inherited their father’s troops.
Biography
Orphaned and raised in the palace
Ling Tong, Ling Feng’s father, was one of Eastern Wu’s most celebrated generals. He had served Sun Ce and then Sun Quan with distinction, earning particular fame for his heroic efforts to save Sun Quan at the Battle of Xiaoyao Ford (215). Ling Tong died of illness in 217 at the age of twenty-nine, leaving behind two very young sons: Ling Lie and Ling Feng.
When Ling Tong fell ill, Sun Quan was deeply concerned and had him brought onto his own ship so that he could personally oversee his treatment. After Ling Tong’s death, Sun Quan mourned him intensely. At that point Ling Lie and Ling Feng were both too young to manage any affairs of their own. Sun Quan took the two boys into his palace and had them raised there, treating them with extraordinary favour. When guests visited, Sun Quan would point to them and say: “These are my tiger cubs” (此吾虎子也).
When the boys reached the age of seven or eight, Sun Quan arranged for the scholar Ge Guang (葛光) to teach them reading and writing, and every ten days he had them practise riding horses. He also granted them followers and wealth, treating them in a manner that reflected the high esteem in which he had held their father.
Inheritance of the marquisate
When Ling Lie came of age, Sun Quan enfeoffed him as a village marquis (亭侯) and gave him command of Ling Tong’s former troops, fulfilling the promise Sun Quan had made to honour the Ling family.
However, Ling Lie later committed a crime and was stripped of his title, his command, and his position. His rank and the troops that had belonged to Ling Tong then passed to Ling Feng as the next eligible heir. Beyond this, the records are silent on Ling Feng’s subsequent career. There is no record of what offices he held, whether he saw military action, or when he died.
Historical sources
Ling Feng is mentioned briefly in the Records of the Three Kingdoms (SGZ), in the biography of his father Ling Tong (volume 55 of the Book of Wu). The account is brief, recording only the essential facts of the brothers’ upbringing in Sun Quan’s household and the transfer of rank from Ling Lie to Ling Feng.
An alternate account in the Wu Shu (吴书) provides the detail that Sun Quan had Ge Guang teach the boys and had them practise riding every ten days, and preserves Sun Quan’s remark calling them his “tiger cubs.”
Family
Ling Feng was the younger son of Ling Tong and grandson of Ling Cao, who had been killed in battle under Sun Ce. His elder brother Ling Lie was the original heir to Ling Tong’s marquisate but was stripped of the title for an unspecified crime. Ling Feng inherited the marquisate and the troops that had once belonged to their father.
The specific identity of Ling Feng’s mother is not recorded in the surviving sources.